Your long-term financial security is far too important to be left to chance.
Taking steps to ensure you have an effective plan in place, and that your money is working hard for you as you accumulate your wealth, will go some way to securing your future.
It is also important to ensure you are making the right decisions and that you do not veer off course as you look to fulfil your financial objectives. This is an area where you can really benefit from working with a professional financial planner, rather than trying to do it all yourself.
In this article, you can find out about some of the ways that a financial planner can help you keep track of your progress towards your long-term aspirations.
1. Keeping your financial plan up to date
Probably the most important step an experienced financial planner will take to help you meet your objectives is to ensure you have an effective and robust financial plan in place.
This will derive from detailed conversations about your current position, and your future plans and aspirations.
We can help you protect your family and, even though your retirement may still be some years away, support you in growing your wealth so that you will be able to live comfortably once you retire.
But once your plan is in place, that is only half the story.
By having an ongoing relationship with a financial planner, we can help you adjust your plan so it continues to suit your needs.
2. Holding annual review meetings to check your progress
Once your plan is in place, it is then important to review it regularly to ensure you are still on track to achieve your targets, or if you need to make any adjustments.
We would recommend that we work with you to do this at least once a year.
As well as potentially being affected by external forces, such as a period of high inflation or stock market upheaval, it is also possible that your own objectives may have changed.
For example, you may have changed jobs or had a big promotion in your current place of work. Or you may be considering starting your own company.
Of course, changes to your plans need not just have to take place after an annual review. Whenever an issue comes up, we will be more than happy to talk it through with you.
Likewise, if there is something you are considering and are trying to ascertain how it could affect your progress towards your objectives, and what you might need to change, we will be more than willing to offer you some guidance.
3. Using cashflow forecasting to help you visualise the outcome of decisions
One of the challenges when managing your wealth is trying to work out whether the financial decisions you are taking as part of your planning will help you achieve those aims.
Obviously, there is no such thing as a foolproof crystal ball that allows you to see your future.
However, sophisticated cashflow forecasting software can provide you with valuable insight when it comes to assessing the effect financial choices will have on your future wealth.
This is done by inputting full details of your finances into the software. These will include:
- Your regular outgoings and financial commitments
- Your current and projected income
- The value of all your assets, including your pension fund, other investments, and your property.
It also gives us an early warning of any potential “red flags” in terms of your financial position. This means that we can suggest changes you may need to make to stay on track, such as boosting the amount you are saving each month, or reducing your outgoings to enable you to set more aside into your pension fund.
Perhaps most importantly, cashflow forecasting can also help you consider the effect of various scenarios to see how they could affect your financial position.
These could include personal decisions, such as taking a new job, buying a more expensive property, or retiring earlier than you had planned. It can also help you consider the impact that external events, such as a period of high inflation or a stock market correction, could have on your finances.
The information cashflow modelling provides can be hugely valuable when it comes to helping you make informed financial decisions that reflect your aspirations.
4. Ensuring you have the right investment strategy
A key factor in securing your financial future and growing your wealth will be how you invest your money.
Your initial financial plan will include details about your investment strategy. These will include:
- Your attitude to investment risk
- How much of your capital you are prepared to potentially lose
- Your investment time frame and objectives.
However, once your investment strategy is in place and you are setting money aside each month, it will be important to review this regularly.
In particular, this is true as you get closer to the time you intend to start drawing income from your fund, when the decisions you make will become more impactful.
We will help you find the right balance in your investment strategy between long-term security of income and continuing to benefit from investment growth.
5. Helping you protect your loved ones and secure your legacy
As well as giving you the encouragement and insight you need to effectively grow your wealth, we will also ensure that you have the necessary arrangements in place to help you protect your loved ones.
We can regularly review the steps you take to protect your income in the event of you being unable to work and provide for your family.
Likewise, we will help you with your estate planning arrangements to ensure that your wealth passes to your chosen beneficiaries as tax-efficiently as possible.
Estate and legacy planning will be a key part of the annual review process. We can assess the value of your assets and take the necessary steps to mitigate the effect of Inheritance Tax (IHT) on your estate when you pass on.
We will also encourage you to make a will, and to update this when necessary, particularly if there are significant changes to your financial circumstances.
Get in touch
If you would like to talk to a professional about your own financial planning arrangements, then please do get in touch with us at DBL Asset Management.
Email enquiries@dbl-am.com or call 01625 529 499 to speak to us today.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax planning.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.
The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.